Memorial Day 2020

Friends,

For many of you, this Memorial Day will be difficult. No traveling to that far-away place where a wreath or bouquet is laid, and there is whispering to a lost loved one. No voyaging offshore to that distant reef where ashes had been scattered long ago. No large gatherings to hug each other, to mourn the recent death of someone close, or to reminisce about family and friends who are no longer present to enliven us.

For those who regard Earth as singular, however, one can walk alone to a lovely location, pick a stem to place upon a stone, and feel her warmth. And for those who understand that there is but one Ocean, hike to a vantage point where the sun can be seen setting over the sea, and sense his strength.

Alice Cochran, tall ship sailor, author, teacher, and member of the Call of the Sea Board of Directors, recently shared this quote:

“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.”

President John F. Kennedy, speaking at the America’s Cup, 1962